


Little Brother

by A Small World (Datawolf39)



Series: Little Brother [2]
Category: Numb3rs (TV)
Genre: A little fluffy, CG!Don, Feeding, Gen, Love, Non-Sexual Age Play, Regression, Sudden drop, care, cartoon, friends who think Charlie and Don deserve a break every now and then, little!Charlie, littlespace
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-10-16 15:56:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17552666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Datawolf39/pseuds/A%20Small%20World
Summary: Charlie looks into finding out what had happened to him during that calm morning so he can experience it again. His drop into littlespace happens a bit quicker than he thought it would.





	1. Suddenly Small

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again to the readers of Just Tired. I got some encouragement (more than I was expecting honestly) and so this was born. Hope you readers enjoy. Be sure to leave a comment as to something you might like to see, since it seems like this series will get a couple installments.

When Charlie woke up, he rested in a way that was different from usual. Some of that was that he had gotten some uninterrupted sleep surely, but still something was different. He was calmer, his thoughts gentle and undemanding. they weren't all sluggish, but they were flowing like a river both powerful and calm, beautiful in its simplicity.

He liked feeling this way, loved feeling it, it felt nice to lay there with nothing vying for his attention. No case to solve, no system to crack, just a calm morning.

Then there was a gentle knock at his door. “ Are you awake?” came his brother’s voice.

“I’m up,” he answered.

“Do you want some breakfast?”

“Yes.”

“Come downstairs, it’s almost ready.”

“Okay, be down in a second.” 

Charlie stretched and went over to his drawer. he got out the first pair of pajama pants that he can find and put them on. 

“Good morning,” he called out when he got downstairs.

“Morning,” Don answered. “You feeling better today?” 

“Yeah, I feel pretty good.”

“That’s nice to hear. You were a bit out of it last night,” Don sad coming out of the kitchen with a skillet full of eggs.

“Sorry about that,” he said remembering how he had acted last night.

“It’s okay, you just had me worried.”

“I was just really tired.”

Don sat down, starting on his breakfast. “Do you need a break from helping me? I know I ask for you-”

“Don, I’m okay, I promise, I just had a long few days, it happens. I got some rest and, I’m better now”

“If you’re sure.”

“I am.”

“Alright, but you have to let me know if it gets to be to much okay?” Don said, and even as he said it, he knew that his brother wouldn’t. It was something that he had interpreted wrong when he was younger. He took it as the annoying little sibling trope of always wanting to do what the older sibling was doing, but really it was Charlie’s version of protection. Don had learned that when his brother started working with him. 

At first the thought that the team, and Don, himself, was sent into danger based on the calculations, had made Charlie fear that he was was causing more harm, but then as he learned more about how the FBI, and Don’s team in particular, operated, he became more precise, and it was easier to see his work as making sure that Don didn’t go into more dangerous situations than he needed to, because no matter if he helped or not, Don was still an agent, and would be in harm’s way with or without his help, Charlie could just help to make sure that the odds were in his brother’s favor.

Both of them looked at one another, each of them knowing that the other one knew what his brother was thinking, they both smiled, treasuring that little bit of brotherly telepathy.

~

Charlie didn’t think about the calm start to that morning much after that. It might not have been a day he had to go up to campus, but he still had work to do. He often sat things on the back burner, and his days off were his chance to take care of them.

Soon enough he was in the garage, surrounded by equations, and hard at work. Before he knew it, his dad was hone, and was trying to convince him to take a break, and eat a sandwich.

The days began to fly by after that. There were cases for his brother, consulting with other authorities, teaching his classes, projects, an instance or two of sleep, and his often neglected social life.

Three weeks had passed, since that morning before he thought of it again. He was stressed, to the point where everyone was giving him these looks that even the most socially inept person would be able to identify as pure concern for his well-being. It was probably the dark circles. 

All he wanted was to feel like he had that morning, but he wasn’t quite sure how to. So he turned to the internet. He tried to think of how best to sum up what he had experienced. The best that he could come up with was having a childlike freedom. That night, he had let Don make the choices, Don had been the one to get him ready for bed, he wasn’t responsible for any of those simple tasks. That thought had him looking up variants of childlike mindset, and people who act like children. Some of the links led to zen sites, that listed ways to destress, others were geared towards psychology, and he quickly clicked off of those. He wasn’t looking to change the behavior, as much as he was hoping to channel it. Then he stumbled upon the definition of regression, and the words that stood out were, reverting to a age where they felt safest. A few more variations had him looking at pages on age regression, and something called, littlespace. 

When he shut the computer down, it was his personal laptop, and all of the pages had been completely deleted, he couldn’t help thinking about what he had learned. Just as he was leaving his office, Amita seemed to appear.

He had a free evening now, basically because everyone had conspired against him, because he was working too much, apparently. His dad was out at a friend’s house, dinner was in the fridge, and Don was driving him home. His head was lolling on the on the window, and he was trying his best to seem irritated at the meddling that had gotten him some free time, but all he could think about was littlespace, and how much he was like to have that. How nice it would be to have nothing more than basic needs. 

He blinked, and must have fallen asleep, because, when he opened his eyes again, the car was parked. 

“Come on, buddy, you can sleep inside,” Don was saying.

Charlie didn’t want to move. It was comfy in the car, and getting into bed would mean, walking into the house, up the stairs, and then getting dressed before bed. It sounded like too much, and he was sleepy. Plus the cool air outside would do more to wake him up, than help him sleep, and he really wanted to sleep.

He didn’t have the energy to explain this though, and just shook his head. 

By this point Don had gotten out of the car, and went around to the passenger’s side. “Charlie you have to get up.”

“No,” he whined. Why didn’t his big brother just leave him alone. He was safe in the car. 

“Charlie, stop acting like a little kid, and come on.”

Charlie went to say he wasn’t acting like a kid, but then he realized he was. He was whining and arguing, when he should just get up. Don had things to do and places to go, and dealing with him surely wasn’t part of the plan. 

It took a few moments for him to see, that instead of having to work at it, the stress and tiredness had done the work of getting him into what had been called littlespace. He tried to get out of it, to fill his head with complicated thoughts, but another call from Don to try to get him up, had him plunging right back down.

Donny wanted to get rid of him, and it was worse ‘cause Donny jus’ needed his brain, and right now, he was not thinking like normal, and so Donny didn’t want him.

The thought brought tears to his eyes, and then Don walked away, and before he could try to choke them back, that thought, and Don’s action, tore a sob through his control, and then he shattered.


	2. Taking Care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don falls easily into the role of a caregiver

Charlie was dead on his feet, Don noted as his brother got into the car. There was a minute of fumbling with the seatbelt, before the click. Don smiled at that, Charlie was kind of cute when he was all tired. It was like seeing the little boy that his brother had been, only this time he didn’t resent the intellect that he had.

The drive home was quiet, Charlie was leaning his head on the window in a position that did not look the least bit comfortable. He was trying to look unhappy at this turn of events, but the was failing. He looked more like a kitten grumpy at the fact that it had gotten wet, than an angry adult. Interspersed with that look was one of contemplation, perhaps there was a project that he was working on? 

Then there was also the fact that every time his eyes closed it looked like he struggled a little harder to reopen them, and finally the task was too herculean, and Charlie fell asleep.

When Don had parked the car, he had shaken his brother, trying to get him up, so that they could go inside, and rest. “Wake up, we’re home. Come on buddy, you can sleep inside.”

Don hadn’t said anything to Charlie, but the reason that he was he one to drive Charlie home was because, the same plot that had ended with Charlie having the evening off, had resulted in Don having the same evening off. The group of mother hens, both FBI and Cal Sci, had conspired against Agent, and Professor, and lo and behold they had a free evening on a Friday.

When his brother failed to get up, he got out of the car, and went to the passenger’s door, and opened it.

“Charlie you have to get up.”

“No,” Charlie whined. 

Don was a little shocked at that reply and his next word reflected that. “Charlie, stop acting like a little kid, and come on.”

He watched confusion come over his brother, at his words. He seemed half ready to give a snappy retort, that would certainly turn into a short lived argument, when he paused, as though considering the words. 

Don was caught in examining the expressions that he didn’t say anything, but after a moment, he spoke a little more gently. "Let's get inside, okay?"

That was when he caught sight of an expression that made him feel like he had ran over a box full of puppies, so instead of trying to coax him out again, Don walked away to go open the back door to get his bag, and Charlie’s. The least that he could do was carry them, and it would give his brother a moment to collect himself.

That’s when he heard a small choking noise, and moments later, full on sobs. He bumped his head on the car, in his rush to get back to his brother. 

Charlie was still in the car, seat belt still fastened, with tears falling down his cheeks like rain during a storm. Don didn’t know what to do, he was used to dragging Charlie out of the garage in cases like this, since his brother typically retreated into math when something was wrong.

Listening to Charlie cry was breaking his heart though, and he decided to just do what his instincts were telling him. He reached over to undo the belt, and pulled his brother into a hug. “Come on buddy, calm down,” he said, because there were no other words.

To his surprise, Charlie did calm down a little. Breathing more in time with Don’s deliberately slow breathing. 

Charlie’s hands grabbed fistfuls of his shirt, as his arms tightened around his brother.

In response Don tightened his hold on his little brother. When the sobbing and calmed to just tears, Don asked, “Are you ready to go inside?” 

Charlie nodded, and reluctantly released him. 

Don stood up, and stepped back so that Charlie could get out the car. Charlie tracked his movement, as though making sure he wasn’t leaving, and unsteadily got to his feet. Charlie shut the car door, wincing a bit at the sound it made, and stood there as though he had no idea what to do. His thumb had started to gravitate towards his mouth as well.

Following his instinct once again, since it had been good so far, Don strapped Charlie’s bag across his shoulder to give himself a free hand, and then offered it to his brother.

Charlie looked at it, then at Don’s face, as though trying to see if this was a trick. Don was practiced in hiding his emotions, given his job, so he simply waited, making sure none of the uncertainty he felt showed on his face. 

A few seconds later, Charlie grabbed onto the offered hand, and gave him a shy smile. The tears had finally slowed, and before he could overthink things, Don placed his bag on the ground, and wiped them away. Then he picked up his bag and led them into the house. He’d had to put down his bag again, to unlock the door, because he didn’t want to take his hand away from the hold that his brother had on him.

He had just put down his bag on the floor,so that he could close the door and lock it, when he heard the rumble of a stomach that had gone unfed for too long. He gazed at his brother, and was startled to see a deep blush coated his face.

“Did you have anything to eat today?” he asked after locking the door. 

Charlie nodded.

“Really?” Don asked.

Charlie nodded again.

“A meal?” Don pressed.

Charlie looked like he was going to nod again, but Don’s gaze made him think the better of it, and he shook his head.

“Good thing Dad left dinner for us,” Don said, guiding them to the dining room. “Stay here,” he said, after Charlie was sat in a chair. “I’ll be right back,” he promised.

Charlie nodded, and let go of Don’s hand with clear reluctance.

Don made quick work of going into the fridge, and locating a dish full of chicken and pasta. He turned on the oven, and placed it on the rack. Then he hurried back to the table. Perhaps he should have taken his brother into the kitchen with him, because when he got back, Charlie’s eyes were once again filled with tears, and he had himself wrapped in a self-hug.

They needed a distraction, Don decided, something to do until the food was heated up. “How about we go see what’s on TV?” Don asked, offering his hand again.

Charlie took it, and Don pulled him over to the couch. Don sat first, and Charlie was right beside him, practically in his lap, but he found that he didn’t mind. He wasn’t the most cuddleprone person in the world, but then again, Charlie wasn’t either. There was something about today though, something that was different. 

He picked up the remote and started flipping through the stations. He noticed that Charlie flinched whenever the channel landed on any kind of procedural drama or anything explicit. So Don looked for something else, before coming to a stop on a bright cartoon with a yellow and white dog that could speak. He had glanced over to his brother, and then put the remote down. Charlie seemed to be entranced by the images on the screen. A smile graced his features as the dog chatted away, because for some reason it was working as a phone operator and living in a penthouse.

His brother was so into the show, that when Don went to go get dinner out of the oven, he didn’t worry about Don moving out of his sight.

When the show ended, Don made a note to find out the name of it, just in case, and then they went to wash their hands, and then to the table to eat. Don and put out two plates already, so all he had to do was take some of the food out of the dish.

Once he had done that, he sat down, and began to eat. He hadn’t skipped meals, like his brother had, but he was still hungry.

Across the table he heard a sound that was like a mix between a whine, and a puppy growling, and looked up to see Charlie struggling with his fork. His coordination was lacking, as a result, he wasn’t able to eat, and he was getting frustrated because he was hungry.

Don saw that he was about to just go at it with his fingers, and so, he moved to Charlie’s side. He plucked the utensil from his hand, and swirled some food onto it. Charlie looked at the food speared on the fork, as though willing it to come to him so that he could eat it, and Don obliged. 

Charlie opened his mouth willingly as the food came his way, and chewed it up. Smiling happily, and bouncing a little in his seat.

Don angled the chairs to make it a bit easier, and fed him another bite. While he was chewing, Don ate some of his own food. Soon he had the rhythm, feed Charlie, then himself, and a little while later all the food was eaten.

His brother looked away from him, “Thank you,” he said.

“No problem,” Don said, collecting the plates, so that he could go put them in the sink. 

When he came back, Charlie was still at the table, but he was rubbing at his eyes in a way that said that he was most certainly ready for bed.

Once again Don was tasked with getting them up the stairs, and getting his brother ready for bed.

Once he had walked out of the room, it hit him how… odd this evening had been. Charlie had been acting like a kid, and far from thinking it was weird or creepy, Don had fallen into the role of a caregiver with no questions asked. Sure had been a little surprised, and he would be sure to make sure that this was not something detrimental to his brother, when Charlie was able to talk about it. He had a feeling that it wasn’t though, given that this was the second time. He had almost forgotten that night that had happened almost a month ago, but tonight had brought it back to his attention.

Crazier still, he had liked it, he had liked babying his brother, watching that cartoon with him, feeding him, and helping him get ready for bed. It had been so calm, and relaxing. In a way it was like a cosmic retry, it was like he had gotten to be the big brother that he was never able to be when they were really kids. With all that in mind, he realized the biggest truth of all was that he wanted to do it again, and he wondered if his brother would let him. Could his brother ever truly consent to his care after all that had gone badly in their relationship or was this fated to be yet another thing that went undiscussed between them?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoiler! Charlie is going to agree, because the Law of Fluff dictates that Little!Charlie is cute and therefore must be Little, loved, and cared for.


End file.
